By
MARISSA CALLIGEROS, Brisbane Times

Cowan sentenced to life in prison

The serial pedophile found guilty of murdering Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 20 years to be served.

The crown prosecution argued that Brett Peter Cowan should be jailed without parole for longer than the mandatory minimum 15 years.

On Thursday, jurors found the 44-year-old father of three guilty of indecently dealing with 13-year-old Daniel, murdering him and interfering with his corpse after luring him from a Sunshine Coast bus stop on December 7, 2003.

After deliberating for almost eight hours, the jury was discharged on Thursday after reaching a unanimous verdict.

Fairfax Media could then reveal Cowan’s perverted sexual past, which includes horrific sex attacks on boys in Brisbane and Darwin in 1987 and 1993, for which he served nine years in jail.